Alice and the 'Moral Dilemma'.

So my dear Emily, to set the scene for this little tale...

Having come over all 'Mad Hatter' in designing the new Tea-room at Dimbola, and then making a discovery about the connections throughout the 'Freshwater Circle' to Lewis Carroll and one work in particular- my bookshop days are pretty much taken up with research ( and knitting as all Grannies should. )

My book is coming on well now, and I'm immersed in Victorians up to my elbows.

And so it was this Tuesday, when I'd picked up a 'Complete Works of Lewis Carroll' and was delighted to find a random letter printed in it that backed up my theories and was missing from Dodgson's diaries of that year. Quite enough for GiGi for one days find.

I turned my mind to the new JMC Gift Shop that we are planning this month, and rang my boss to see if he could find me a nice edition of 'Alice' for our display.

Next thing I knew, in walks an elderly gent and hands me a book...

'Do you know if this is worth anything?'

I take the book from him. It's a bit shabby, red leather with gold writing...'Alice'.

I open it, and it says 'Alice in Wonderland', 1867, sixth thousand.

Oooo.

I'm just an apprentice in the bookshop right now, but I wanted that book a lot, without knowing much about the edition.

Devils horns started in my temples and I told the Gentleman I would like to buy it.

He left it with me.

I looked it up in a catalogue ( no internet here ) and realised that it was very probably an extremely scarce copy of the very first UK edition. Dodgson had recalled the very first edition in 1865, as both he and John Tenniel were not happy with the typography or the printing of the illustrations. Only twenty or so of those survived. The first Uk edition appeared in 1866, and 1867 of which this was a beautifully bound Macmillan leather covered copy.

My devil horns subsided.

It's not my bookshop, and my Boss has the dibs.

I told him about it when he rang late afternoon to find out about the days business.

" Oh well, it won't be a first edition" says he.

I leave the gentleman's number.

Following it up today, said Gent hasn't managed to make contact.

To be continued Emily, but I rather hope the Gent is satisfied with a sale, and somehow or other, my Boss might be happy for us to display it at the new Gift Shop, until some lucky person buys it, and I hope cherishes it! It is 145 years old, a book that has never been out of print.

Its Author is my current fascination 'Agatha Raisin' stylee, and whilst immersing myself in a plethora of  tomes written at that time describing the social strata, the literary glitterati, the Oxford Tractarians et-all, ooh it was nice to set eyes on that book, if only for a few hours.

Funny how things happen Ems.

Your ever-loving Grand-mother, GiGi X